Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Jeddah and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Jeddah: $1,374 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $12,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

67

Cost of Living Index in Jeddah
Learn more

Jeddah Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
Learn more

Barcelona Living Index

Jump to prices

Jeddah

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,374

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Jeddah and in Barcelona

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Jeddah and in Barcelona actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,374 in Jeddah versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Jeddah $1,374
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,148 in Jeddah versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Jeddah $2,148
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,922 in Jeddah versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Jeddah $2,922
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Jeddah costs roughly 43% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Jeddah 2% above, Barcelona 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.04 SAR 22.67

$17.94 €15.96

-66.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.3 SAR 301

$68.1 €60.5

18.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 SAR 35.65

$13.28 €11.81

-28.46%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.38 SAR 8.95

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 SAR 9.88

Cappuccino

$3.73 SAR 13.98

$3.25 €2.89

14.77%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.97 SAR 3.62

$3.01 €2.67

-67.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 SAR 0.98

$1.87 €1.66

-86.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.85 €3.42

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.98

Milk (1 liter)

$1.68 SAR 6.32

$1.29 €1.15

30.23%

White Bread (500g)

$1.26 SAR 4.71

$2.04 €1.81

-38.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.34 SAR 8.76

$1.72 €1.53

36.05%

Eggs

$2.43 SAR 9.13

$4.77 €4.24

-49.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.36 SAR 23.88

$16.77 €14.92

-62.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.30 SAR 31.14

$8.93 €7.94

-7.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.23 SAR 49.66

$19.88 €17.68

-33.45%

Apples (1kg)

$2.13 SAR 7.98

$2.98 €2.65

-28.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 SAR 6.33

$2.03 €1.80

-16.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.62 SAR 6.07

$2.73 €2.43

-40.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.69 SAR 6.32

$2.68 €2.38

-36.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.12 SAR 4.22

$2.10 €1.87

-46.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 SAR 4.71

$2.08 €1.85

-39.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 SAR 4.01

$1.45 €1.29

-26.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 SAR 1.99

$0.89 €0.79

-40.45%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$4.21 SAR 15.81

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 SAR 6.59

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.49 SAR 9.36

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 SAR 25.17

$6.94 €6.17

-3.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.29

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 €2.29

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.96 SAR 3.61

$2.99 €2.66

-67.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$55.4 SAR 208

$25.20 €22.41

119.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.16 SAR 11.85

$3.12 €2.77

1.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.76 SAR 6.62

$1.44 €1.28

22.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.90 SAR 52.2

$33.50 €29.80

-58.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.64 SAR 2.41

$1.79 €1.59

-64.25%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$47.3K SAR 177.3K

$34.6K €30.8K

36.44%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$22.0K SAR 82.4K

$30.1K €26.7K

-26.98%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$90.4 SAR 339

$178 €158

-49.18%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$38.29 SAR 144

$13.32 €11.85

187.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$68.0 SAR 255

$34.88 €31.03

94.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$78.0 SAR 293

$53.3 €47.37

46.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$38.19 SAR 143

$16.01 €14.24

138.54%

Cinema Ticket

$11.91 SAR 44.69

$11.06 €9.84

7.69%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$769 SAR 2,887

$957 €851

-19.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.7K SAR 62.8K

$16.6K €14.7K

0.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.4 SAR 272

$88.2 €78.4

-17.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.1 SAR 211

$39.49 €35.12

42.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.9 SAR 375

$103 €91.5

-2.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.6 SAR 351

$121 €108

-22.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$789 SAR 2,961

$1,653 €1,470

-52.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$532 SAR 1,998

$1,302 €1,158

-59.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,427 SAR 5,356

$2,557 €2,275

-44.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$832 SAR 3,121

$1,915 €1,703

-56.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,767 SAR 6,631

$7,286 €6,481

-75.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,143 SAR 4,290

$5,080 €4,519

-77.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,665 SAR 6,248

$2,281 €2,029

-26.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.39

3.28

64.33%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Jeddah: October 10, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Jeddah

$532 38.7%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 145% $769

Groceries & Markets

Jeddah

$201 14.6%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 59.3% $119

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Jeddah

$197 14.3%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 14.9% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Jeddah

$145 10.5%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 9.3% $13

Eating Out

Jeddah

$126 9.2%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 114% $144

Sport & Entertainment

Jeddah

$102 7.4%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 26% $26

Getting Around

Jeddah

$71 5.2%

Barcelona

$47 2% 33.4% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $789 in Jeddah and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 37% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $80.0 in Jeddah vs $68.0 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $201 vs $320, with Jeddah cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Jeddah

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

13:47 1:47 PM

12:47 12:47 PM

1 h behind Jeddah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,430,697

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to SAR – Saudi Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇦 Saudi Riyal (ر.س)

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.22 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to SAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Jeddah Barcelona 4,100 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Jeddah
Barcelona

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Jeddah vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Jeddah and Barcelona differ by about 75% in total monthly costs ($1,374 vs $2,399 including rent). Jeddah is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 37% lower in Barcelona. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $789 in Jeddah versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $769 in Jeddah versus $957 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 59% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,374 in Jeddah versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Jeddah but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Jeddah the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Jeddah and Barcelona are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Jeddah gentler on the wallet – expenses run 75% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.